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A Preview of the Windy City

Since I’ll be moving to Chicago in August, I’ve had my eyes peeled for cool people to meet and fun stuff to do up there. This has proven to be an easy task, since, every time I mention to somebody that I’m moving to Chicago, they unavoidably tell me about a friend of theirs to hit up or some restaurant I have to go to, etc.

If I’m going to be leaving the city I love and know is awesome, I’m only doing it with the guarantee that I will encounter some equally awesome stuff up where I’m headed. So, I thought I’d share with you all a few of the many things that I’m excited about in Chicago – and maybe convince some people to come up to join me for some of them!

This appears to be right up my alley. The Chicago Humanities Festival holds a variety of educational programs throughout the year, with the fall Humanities Festival being the highlight of the year. This main event brings together artists, authors, performers, educators, and humanists of all stripes together to lecture and dialogue about the humanities and their importance in our society. This year, the list of lecturers includes Dan Sinker (of the @MayorEmanuel Twitter phenomenon + the Punk Planet magazine) and the rapper Common, who will be talking about the history of hip-hop (a subject I’m currently delving into myself at the moment (perfect timing!)). I’m super excited to see some of both of these talks, and see what else this awesome organization has to offer.

The first time I went to the Art Institute of Chicago was a profoundly influencing event in my life. Although the realizations that followed my visit to the AIC are too many to write about here, (perhaps a real essay is in order) I can summarize by saying that visual art became a real interest of mine on that day, a subject that demanded some attention and study. I’m going to be getting a year’s worth of membership to the Institute when I get to Chicago, and I plan on using it quite a bit.

Technori is a group committed to showcasing and aiding Chicago entrepreneurship. They regularly write articles about young startups in the area, and host tons of startup events where entrepreneurs can meet and share ideas. Their largest event (which I’ll sadly be missing) is S.P.A.R.K. Chicago, a week-long startup incubation event with the goal of launching three new businesses by the end of the week. I’m positive, though, that there’ll be many other events of theirs that I’ll be going to.

If you know of some other events, people, or places I should check out when I fly up to the Windy City, please tell me about them! I’m always looking for more awesome to surround myself with.